The present invention relates to a garment package and, more particularly, to a garment package for housing and protecting a folded garment having foldable front flaps, a depending and protective top, and a hanger attached to the package to facilitate hanging the package on a display support member.
Packaging for folded and displayed garments, such as socks and other hosiery products, normally consists of an insert or a type of inner support means and a band holding the folded garment against the support means so that the fabric of the garment can be seen and touched by a shopper. Since it is an encouragement to the shopper to feel the fabric of a garment, often the garment is removed from the band and support member and thereafter unfolded for a more complete study. In many cases, the shopper is not inclined to take the time and effort to carefully refold the garment and reposition it on the support member and within the band. Thus, the band, support member, and garment are usually casually laid back on the display, likely in an unhung and rather unattractive condition, making it very unlikely to be viewed by subsequent shoppers. Frequent maintenance of such displays is therefore required in order to refold and reposition the garment on the support member and within the band or to replace the unwrapped garment with a new package.
Other prior devices involve the use of more than one surrounding band in an effort to secure the garment more rigidly to a support member and resist removal of the garment from the member by a shopper. In that style package, one band encircles two folded leg members of a garment, and the second band then encompasses the entire garment when a fold is made over the first band with a section of the folded leg. This type of package is somewhat more effective in resisting removal of a garment from the support, or backing, member; however, the garment is still exposed and has a tendency to collect dust and other debris that might be in close proximity to the display. While it does require some effort to remove the garment for additional inspection from the two bands and backing member, such activity frequently does occur, resulting in an unhung package in disarray as previously described. The garment must be refolded and repositioned into the existing package, and, if damaged, the package and garment must be replaced.
There is no relatively inexpensive and cooperatively designed package that will secure a garment within a package, protect the garment from dust and other debris to which it may be exposed, and minimize the maintenance required in refurbishing and repackaging folded displayed products such as socks and hosiery. Since these requirements are critical to the successful and ongoing display of products of this nature, it is to these desirable features that the present invention is directed.
There is a desire and need to display packaging in an manner observable by shoppers. Hanging packages, for example, flat hosiery packages, on a display requires some form of hanging device to be utilized with the package that will engage a support member on the display and maintain the package in the desired location. Hanging tabs that are integral cut-outs or extensions of a cardboard package are often used for this purpose. However, repeated removal of packages by customers from a display for closer inspection and rehanging causes wear on cardboard-type hanging tabs, resulting in damage to the hanging tab and package. Indeed, a single, sufficiently rigorous pull of a package from a display support member can tear a cardboard hanging tab from a package. As such, cardboard-type hanging tabs often do not provide the strength or flexibility of material or construction to allow repeated removal and replacement on display members. Thus, there is a need for a hanging package that provides a stronger, more durable, and more flexible hanging element for repeated removal and hanging on a display support member. There is also a need for a hanging hosiery package having a stronger, more durable, and more flexible hanging element that is inexpensive to manufacture and use. Prior packages have not combined the advantages of an inexpensive design that will secure a garment within a package, protect the garment from dust and other debris, and minimize the maintenance required in refurbishing and repackaging folded displayed products with a stronger, more durable, and more flexible hanging element for repeated removal and hanging on a display member. It is to these perceived needs that the present invention is directed.
The present invention relates to a garment package and, more particularly, to a garment package for housing and protecting a folded garment having foldable front flaps, a depending and protective top, and a hanger attached to the package to facilitate hanging the package on a display member.
A package of the present invention includes a back and first and second foldable front flaps each having first and second foldable sections. Each foldable section of each foldable front flap forms a partial side for the package, protecting the housed garment along these sides from touch or removal. A top has a garment covering portion and a depending tab positionable between the folded garment and the closed first and second foldable flaps to shield the garment from dust and debris and resist removal of the garment from the package. In embodiments, the top has an opening cut in the garment covering portion. A package of the present invention further includes a hanging element, for example, a pressure-sensitive hanger, adaptable to be attached to the package. The hanging element is preferably plastic. When the hanging element is attached to the back of the package and the top garment covering portion is folded in an approximately perpendicular relationship with the back, the hanging element extends through the opening and above the package to facilitate hanging the package. The package is particularly useful in holding for display hosiery products, such as fine denier hosiery and socks.
Features of a package of the present invention may be accomplished singularly, or in combination, in one or more of the embodiments of the present invention. As will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art, the present invention has wide utility in a number of applications as illustrated by the variety of features and advantages discussed below.
One advantage is that the present invention provides packages capable of protecting a folded and displayed article from dust or debris and from otherwise being spoiled by the touch of a prospective customer.
Another advantage is that packages of the present invention resist to a great degree the removal of a garment from the structure of the package for a more intimate examination by the prospective customer, which often results in disarray and/or destruction of the package.
Another advantage of packages of the present invention is that the garment covering portion of the top prevents a garment from easily falling out of the package.
Another advantage is that the present invention provides a package that will resist tampering and removal of a housed garment and thereby minimize maintenance time and replacement costs associated with conventional packaging of this nature.
Another advantage is that packages of the present invention permit a garment to be hung on a display or otherwise attractively presented.
Embodiments of the present invention provide the advantage of packages having a hanger that will permit the package to be more reliably suspended from a display support member.
Another advantage is that packages of the present invention provide a pressure-sensitive hanger that is sufficiently strong, durable, and flexible to accommodate repeated removal and hanging on a display support member.
Still another advantage is that the present invention provides packages having a stronger, more durable, and more flexible hanging element and that are relatively inexpensive to manufacture and use.
Thus, there has been broadly outlined the more important features of the invention in order that the detailed description that follows may be better understood and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are, obviously, additional features of the invention that will be described hereinafter which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto. With respect to the invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details and construction and to the arrangement of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in several ways.
It is also to be understood that the phraseology and terminology used herein are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting in any respect. Those skilled in the art will appreciate the concept upon which this disclosure is based and that it may readily be utilized as a basis for designing other structures, methods, and systems for carrying out the several purposes of the invention. Additional uses, objects, advantages, and novel features of the invention are set forth in the detailed description that follows and will become more apparent to those skilled in the art upon examination of the following or by practice of the invention.
This summary of the invention, along with the various features of novelty which characterize the invention, are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure. For a better understanding of the invention, its operating advantages, and the specific objects obtained by its use, reference should be made to the accompanying drawings and descriptive matter in which like characters of reference designate like parts throughout the several views.